Liverpool vs Manchester City: Champions League, quarter-final: Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk must shine at Anfield if Reds are to have any chance
One English team will make it through to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Either Manchester City will reach that stage for the first time since 2015/16, or Liverpool will go through.
The Reds haven’t been that deep in the competition since 2007/08.
With Pep Guardiola’s side the Premier League champions elect, most bookmakers make them the favourites for the tie.
But Jurgen Klopp’s men are the only side to beat City in the league this season.
So the Reds will be hoping to repeat that feat.
If they are going to get past City, Liverpool will need a good result in the first leg, which is on Wednesday, April 4 at Anfield. Kick-off is at 7:45pm and the match is live on BT Sport.
Our friends at have previewed the game.
Key battles
If Liverpool want to win, they’ll be looking to their Egyptian king Mohamed Salah to continue his great form.
The summer signing from Roma is the Premier League’s top scorer with 29 goals, while he has 37 in all competitions, including seven in Europe so far.
Aymeric Laporte played at left-back against Everton at the weekend, and it looked like he was being prepared for that role against Liverpool.
Naturally, he is a centre-back, so it is a risk for Guardiola, putting a player out of position in such a big tie.
But Fabian Delph and Oleksandr Zinchenko, both midfielders by trade, have played there this season and haven’t looked out of place. The Catalan coach is, more often than not, proven right.
In defence, it will be a big night for Liverpool too. Trent Alexander-Arnold will have a busy evening against the flying Leroy Sane.
It has been a difficult few weeks for the young right-back, who was at fault against Manchester United and Crystal Palace after not tracking the opposition left winger’s runs into the area.
If he loses the German, Liverpool could be in real trouble.
It won’t just be Alexander-Arnold who will have to be at his best, Virgil van Dijk will need to show why the Reds splashed out a world-record fee for a defender in January.
He was bought for the big occasions and Wednesday night certainly will be one of them.
Gabriel Jesus is likely to play ahead of Sergio Aguero, who’s never scored at Anfield, and it will be the Dutchman’s job to keep him quiet.
Potential match-winners
Both sides are packed full of players capable of winning the game.
Liverpool will be focusing on their front three of Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
Between them they have an incredible 75 goals in all competitions. That will be a fear for any side across Europe – even Manchester City, who have the best defence in the top flight in England, having conceded just 21 league goals this season.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Wissam Ben Yedder have scored more than Firmino’s seven in the Champions League this season.
The away side will also line up with a 4-3-3, in a similar shape to Liverpool’s, with a holding midfielder.
Expect Guardiola to try and continue his system of playing out from the back and picking teams off, as has been so successful this season.
It looks like he has selected Laporte as the man to keep Salah quiet in the left-back position, which has been one area where City haven’t had a first-choice option since Benjamin Mendy’s injury.
How the teams are likely to be set up
Liverpool (4-3-3): Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson; Milner, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Kompany, Laporte; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva; Sterling, Jesus, Sane.
Key stats
The tie between Liverpool and City will be the first meeting between Premier League sides in the Champions League quarter-finals since 2010/11, when Chelsea faced Manchester United.
No player has more assists in the Champions League this season than James Milner’s six. De Bruyne is joint-second, alongside Dele Alli, with four.
Manchester City had the highest possession in the round of 16, with 62.7 per cent over their two legs against Basel.
Guardiola’s side also had the highest pass accuracy in the last round too, with 90.1 per cent. They also completed the most passes (6213).